Australian Cannabis Company Making Big Moves In Italy

Privately held Australian
company shortlisted to supply cannabis to Italian Ministry of Defense.

Rome July 7th 2019

In a classic case of David versus Goliath, a
privately held Australian medical cannabis company challenges the world’s
largest cannabis companies to become one of only four companies under review by
the Italian governments Ministry of Defense (MOD) to take the prize estimated
at US$1,700,000.

On the 18th of June 2019, Italy’s MOD
announced a new tender for the supply of 400kgs of medicinal cannabis to
supplement what the country is currently cultivating. Italy has increased
cultivation and notwithstanding the increase of medical cannabis, it is still
necessary to import cannabis from abroad to ensure the continuity of treatment
of Italian patients under therapy. The Pharmaceutical Chemical Plant of
Florence is currently the only Italian plant authorized to produce
cannabis-based products for medical use in Italy

Medicinal Organic Cannabis Australia (MOCA)is a privately owned Sydney based cannabis aggregator and is the only non-Canadian
owned company that has proceeded into the final round in the tender. MOCA’s
Italian born directors Alessandro Sorbello and Emanuela Ispani were present at
the Italian Military offices in Rome last week for the opening of the public
tenders and responded to technical questions from the MOD. Sorbello said, "MOCA
has arrived onto the global competitive market by being extremely innovative
and agile in its business operations, as a fully licensed Australian medical
cannabis company, we are able to work with cultivators and suppliers around the
world. The MOD were impressed with our technical procedures in developing
cultivars and stabling plant reproduction to maintain replicability in our
medication”.

The four companies now under review by the
Italian Military are Tilray, Medicinal Organic Cannabis Australia, Aurora and Canopy
Growth, the company that in August 2018, Constellation Brands announced would
invest US$3.8 billion and is valued at over US$18 billion.

The international tender had a very tight period
and closed on the 3rd of July 2019, interested companies had just one week to
request more information from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and submit
applications to Rome. The tender caught the attention of cannabis company
giants from around the world and was subject to extremely stringent quality and
GMP certification criteria. Furnishing the Italian military is
prestigious and gives great authority to the winning submission, so
participation in the tender was spirited and fierce.

The MOD called for three lots in the tender
of medical cannabis and defined the quality and amount of supply. Bidders were
able to submit their offers for a single batch or all of the following batches:

dried cannabis flowers with high content
of THC (320 kg);

dried cannabis flowers with similar
content of THC and CBD (40 kg);

dried cannabis flowers with high content
of CBD (40 kg).

The supply will occur on a four-monthly basis
up to the amount of 400 kg and the successful company will have two years from
September 2019 to deliver the product. Italy is one of the largest European
markets for medical cannabis and, with a population of 60 million, holds
enormous potential for businesses looking to expand. In recent years, the
Italian medical cannabis system has been struggling to meet patient demand,
reported at over 20,000 patients in 2018.

“Being shortlisted against the three largest
cannabis companies in the world is a great achievement for MOCA who is developing
its Italian business and imports raw and refined CBD products directly from
cultivators. The company has operation in Australia and New Zealand. Our network
is digitally focused and is enhanced because of our partnerships with online
powerhouse OrganicMarijuana.com," said MOCA CEO Alessandro Sorbello.

The companies in the tender are all subject
to providing additional information to the MOD and MOCA is completing its
requirement currently. The four finalists in the tender have until Friday
the 12th of July to meet all outstanding matters as indicated by the Commission
President